Poll Watcher Trainings Seed Distrust Before November Midterms as Some Sessions Prime Fraud Fears
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 15
Poll Watcher Trainings Seed Distrust Before November Midterms as Some Sessions Prime Fraud Fears
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 15
Summary
Dozens of poll-watcher trainings reviewed ahead of the November midterms showed some sessions priming volunteers to expect fraud, intimidation or other misconduct at voting sites.
Hundreds of slides included claims that elections create “an incentive for fraud,” advice on countering “disinformation and scare tactics,” and even suggestions that watchers monitor other watchers.
Long lines, machine glitches and registration problems can occur on Election Day, but voting is usually uneventful and the trainings are unlikely to trigger widespread immediate disruption.
The bigger risk, election experts said, is longer-term erosion of trust if volunteers are repeatedly taught to interpret ordinary problems as evidence of illegal behavior in a system already under strain.